FIG. 7 of this specification shows a prior pressure contact connector. It comprises a connector housing 1 and a female pressure contact terminal fitting 2, the female terminal fitting 2 being housed inside a cavity 3 formed in the connector housing 1. The female terminal fitting 2 has a long and narrow box shape, an electric wire W making pressure contact with a pressure contact blade 4 formed at its posterior end. A resilient contact member 5 at an anterior end allows a tab (not shown) of a corresponding terminal fitting to be fitted thereto.
The operation of housing the female terminal fitting 2 into the cavity 3 is performed by an automatic device. A posterior end face of the female terminal fitting 2 is pushed by a pushing member (not shown) of the automatic device into the cavity 3 from an opening in the posterior face of the connector housing 1. The female terminal fitting 2, when pushed in this manner, makes contact with an anterior face wall 3A of the cavity 3. A receiving face 6 of the automatic device makes contact with the anterior face wall 3A. Accordingly, a pressing-in force that applies from the automatic device on to the posterior end face of the female pressure contact terminal fitting 2 is resisted by the receiving face 6 via the anterior face wall 3A of the cavity 3, and as a result the female pressure contact terminal fitting is clamped from its anterior and posterior ends.
However, since the female terminal fitting 2 forms a long and narrow box shape in the anterior-posterior direction, in the case where the pressing-in force from the automatic device is strong, there is a possibility of the female terminal fitting 2 buckling under the force and changing shape inside the cavity 3.
The present invention has been developed after taking the above problem into consideration, and aims to prevent change of shape due to buckling of a pressure contact terminal fitting when it is inserted into a cavity.